The Legacy

After the Pan Horrors ended in 1989 - the future looked very bleak for British led horror anthologies. Then in step Stephen Jones, editor and Britians leading knowledge on horror.

It was during these marketing meetings (with Pan) that I brought up The Pan Book of Horror Stories and was told that sales had declined to such an extent that the series would not be continuing.

I was appalled! I saw the PBHS as the linchpin for Pan’s revival of their horror list and, more importantly, I have always been an outspoken supporter of home-grown horror. Here we had The Pan Book of Horror Stories, which had lasted for three decades (longer than any other horror series in the world) and was, without doubt, the most iconic and best-known horror anthology series ever published in the UK. To me, it seemed madness not to do something with what was already, from a marketing point of view, an easy sell.

So they told me to go away and come up with some proposals.

I remember that one of the ideas I put forward was to reprint selective volumes in handsome, new “collectors edition” hardcovers, but in the end everybody agreed that they wanted to do a Best from The Pan Book of Horror Stories and they asked me to edit it.

And so Dark Voices was born - the first edition edited with Clarence Paget - and five more volumes edited for Pan with David Sutton. After Pan decided they wouldn't do any more, the publisher Victor Gollancz picked up the series now called Dark Terrors.

These books brought in many new exciting talents, and with some of the original Pan Horror authors such as Nicholas Royle - the Voices/Terrors brought the horror short story kicking and screaming into the 90's.

Since then there have been many more anthologies which have been an homage or blatantly ripped off the PBoH style. Leading the charge continues to be the Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, edited by Stephen Jones. Currently on its 19th volume there are no signs of the series slowing down. The worst of the bunch has been the Humdrumming Book of Horror Stories which thankfully ran to only two volumes. From the first story in the first volume, it was clear to see that there had been no time or consideration put into what made the original books so iconic in the first place. The second volume was bearly better than the first. Sadly, Humdrumming as a publishers went under in Autumn '08 - but the anthologies will not be missed. Mention also has to be made of the BHF Book of Horror Stories which currently has a third volume in development. Having only read the first book, there is a good foundation here, and hopefully the others will build on a promising start.

The latest pretender to the throne, and the one that is closet to hitting the mark is the Black Book of Horror series which, edited by Charles Black, has already made quite an impact - being nominated for a BFS award, and bringing together a staple of the old guard and mixing them successfully with new, fresh authors - that is leading the way in which the horror story continues to evolve in a more technology led lifestyle. At the time of writing, the 4th edition was released in May '09.

The current state of the horror section in bookshops like Waterstones lead many to believe that for the time being at least, high street horror is all but dead. There is a slow, but steady market with small press publishers who continue to bring out a diverse range of material, but with downturns in all aspects of life due to the financial slump - it can only be a matter of time before many of these places go the way of the ghost.

I believe that there should be a space for horror antholgies in today's market - and am saddened that while in other media, horror is experiencing a boom time - the short story is all but exctinct, save for a few soldiers who plod on regardless.

With the last books of the series being as poor as they are save for a few good stories, you would think that the books wouldn't do well on the marketplace. Strangely, the opposite has happened. With the last five books recieving print runs of 50,000 or less - these books have become rarities, and have such commanded high prices on auction sites and independent bookseller sites. Recent Ebay auctions have seen the last book being sold for £150 + but after two auctions where these prices were achieved this particular internet site was flooded with the 30th volume on the Buy It Now option, and needless to say, these books have remained unsold. Many internet booksellers have stuck with prices of £50 - £150 for the last three volumes.

As to the early books, a mint edition copy of the first book will fetch £50 - £70. All other copies of the first book should be picked up for less than £5. All other books in the series seem to be selling from about £2.50 onwards, with some more sought after than the others, and hence their prices are reflected in their scarcity.

The 30th Pan Book of Horror Stories ( 30 /Thirtieth )( Lawnmower Man; Revenge of the Kittiwake; Cry of the Churail; Scene of the Crime; Unknown Territory; Bobby Blue Eyes; Cooking the Books; etc) by Paget, Clarence (editor) Stephen King; Murray Pickles; David Williamson; Jack Wainer; Alan Timperley; Rosemary Timperley; Christopher Fowler; Norman P Kaufman; William Davidson; B Seshadri; Stephen Edwards; Jonathan Cruise

Copy: Paperback 9780330310994 London: Pan, 1989, 1st Edition, 1st Printing

Seller: Leonard Shoup, Burlington, ON, Canada

Price: £75.16

Pan Book of Horror Stories: Volume 30 (Paperback)

by Clarence Paget (Author), Herbert Van Thal (Author)

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